Fastening for lacings.



W. W. MUNSELL. FASTBNING FOR LAGINGS. 'APPLIUAT'ION FILED Nov. zo, 1905.

Patented sept. 29, 1908.

TH: NoRRls PETERS crmy wAsmNcrpN, n, t.'V

.WILLIAM W.` MUNSELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FASTENING- FOR LAGINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 20, 1905. Serial No. 288,161.

Patented sept. 29,' 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. MUNsELL, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastenings for Lacings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fastenings for lacings and particularly shoe lacings heretofore ordinarily fastened by tying the two ends of the lacings together when in their operative position for holding the shoe upon the foot and also to other fastenings in which the two ends are joined by a clip, permanent rivet or other devices. I

. The object of my invention is to provide a fastening for lacings and particularly shoe lacings which will entirely avoid the necessity of tying a knot the lacing, which is not` lacing may be conveniently inserted therein and which when clamped upon the lacing will hold it against any possible slipping and loosening in the shoe or other article containing the lacing. y Y

A further object is a fastening for lacings and particularly shoe lacings adapted to hook, fasten and hold each one of two separate, distinct lacings in the same shoe and the non-elastic be connected with the other or elastic lacing in such ya manner as to cause said separate lacings to appear and to be one and the same lacing. l With these ends in view, my invention consists in certain features of noveltyin the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, by which the saidobjects and certain other objects .hereinafter appearing are attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

. In said drawings: Figure 1 illustrates a central vertical section ofa fastening for is in its operative lacings embodying my invention. Fig. 2, a

perspective view of the same in its operative position upon a shoe. Fig. 3, a central vertical section of a modified form of my inven- .tion attached in its operative position upon Fig. 4, a top plan view of ashoe tongue. Fig. 3 illustrates the possibilities of the ornamental character that the top of the screw of the fastener may have. Fig. 5, a vertical section of a modified form of the fastening illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 and by which the lacings may be passed laterally between the clamping surfaces of the fastening. Fig. 6,' a side elevation of my fastening with dotted lines indicating the relative position of the lacing strings in the fastening. Fig. 7, a detail front elevation of a shoe but may be of two pieces of leather for other purposes, illustrating the adaptability of the astener shown in Fig. 1 as a connection between two separate and distinct lacings one part non-elastic and one part elastic and in such manner as to substantially conceal their distinctiveness.

Similar characters of reference indicate thesame parts in the several figures of the drawings.

` A. indicates the body or what may be termed the rigid jaw of a fastening for lacings containing my invention and which for convenience and appearance is preferably spherical in form and provided with a cored-out portion B. forming a passage for the lacing strings a to be clamped between the first and movable jaw of my fastening device.

The movable jaw of this device consists of a screw, threaded to work in the wall of the v bod of the device andfbetween which .and

terial laid therein, the lacings are confined and clamped in their o erative osition.4

The outer endof t e mova le jaw C. is provided with a concavoconvex semi-spherical ca C. having an inner diameter greater than t e body A. and when the movable jaw osition, extends sufficiently down over t e body to conceal the Asame and present only tofthe eye the outer surface of the cap,y which may be ornamented in any suitable manner attractive to the eye and for example, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

As the movable jaw and the fixed jaw of `my fastening is preferably of metal and may be of hard'rubber, itis desirable in order to provide against cutting the lacings and also preventing their slipping Without the exercise of too great pressure, that the pressing portion of the fixed jaw should have therein a yielding substance'indieatedat D. and which is preferably of rubber but may be of felt and even wood, and which may be of rectangular form and recessed in the fixed jaw, as indicated in Fig.' l. The substance D may be provided with laterally extending flanges projecting towards its upper portion beyond the base thereof, so as to afford a proper pressing surface for a correspondingly arger screw between which and the recess j for yielding substance the proportion may be such that the outer edges of this larger clamping jaw may press against but a thin edge of the elastic surface and therefore substantially against the harder substance of the hxed jaw, as shown at E. in Fig. 3.

The body or fixed jaw portion of my fastening is preferably provided with a laterally projecting hook, F formed integrally therewith through which the free ends of the lacings are passed and thereby held together and from dangling around and if long enough thereafter tucked in position inside of the shoe out of sight.

The fastening illustrated in Fig. 1 is the preferred construction for mens shoes because there is so much of the length of the lacing detachably held in hooks d, but after first loosening the lacing sufficient to detach the lacing from the hooks there is enough slack left in the lacing to loosen it sufficiently for removing the shoewithout the necessity of detaching the fastening from the lacing. In ladies7 shoes however, which do not have these hooks, necessity requires the removal of the lacings from more or less of the eyelets every time such a shoe is put on and taken off and this cannot be done without detaching thelacing fastening from the shoe.

For the purpose of ladies7 shoes a modified form of my fastening is therefore shown in Fig. 3 in'whieh the cored-out `portion of the fixed jaw is substantially enlarged laterally and the diameter of the movable jaw correspondingly increased and the 4fixed jaw provided with any suitable means which may be by forming'a screw-threaded socket on the inside thereof to receive a screw G. by means of which the fastening is Vsecured to the tongue H. of a ladies shoe, and whereby the fastening is not only secured to the shoe but in a convenient position for introducing and withdrawing the lacings therefrom, as is readily -permitted by the enlarged lateral opening.

In Fig. 5 l have shown a modification of the-fixed aw which consists in providing it with an opening I. at one side thereof through which one or both lacings may be laterally introduced between the movable andfixed jaws of my fastening, instead of threading them through the cored-out portion, as vrequired in the fastening shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

' ceases Fig. 6 by dotted lines, indicates the relative position of the lacings to each other and to the fixed and movable jaws when held thereby in their operative position.

A fastening for lacings, such as above described, is not only adapted for securing the lacing in its operative position by clamping its upper extremities, but for securing the lacings at any point between the two extremities of the lacing, as for example as illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein is shown the adaptability of my fastening for a lacing, a lower part of which is non-elastic and the upper portion elastic, and in which it is particularly desirable to fasten the non-elastie or lower portion of the lacing securely in its operative position without preventing the elastic upper portion from performing its function of enabling the upper portion of the shoe to yield tothe muscular action of the ankle and to various strains occurring in the wearing of a shoe and particularly when walking and running.

As shown in Fig. 7, the fastening is not only utilized to hold the non-elastic portion of a lacing in its operative position but as a connection between the non-elastic and elastic portion of such lacing and for the purposes of a vneat like disposal of the free and upper ends of the elastic portion, l practically employ a buckle J. which also serves as a means for taking up any undue slack in the elastic portion and thereby increasing and diminishing its tension, as may be desired.

When the non-elastic l) and elastic portion. c of a lacing are each of a single separate piece, the fastening illustrated in Fig. 1 by means of the hook projection thereon, serves not only to hold the non-elastic portion of the lacing in its tightened position, but to conceal the point between the non-elastic and elastic portions, as, illustrated in Fig. 7, and thereby present to the eye a seeming continuity between the two lacings when otherwise a more or less unsightly break would appear, while at the same time the hook serves as an eye through which the elastic portion may freely move, as it will in efforts to equalize its tension on the part of both of its sides. In some instances however, one side of the elastic lacing may, by bending one of the lower hooks down upon it, be secured against detachment from the shoe but even when this is done there still remains the free movement of the lacing through the hook whereby the lacing is enabled to adjust its tension as above dcscribed, for the reason that the relative position of the hook and the elastic lacing may ybe such that the hook will serve to prevent furthermore the ciirve o'r bend in the hook provides an eyelet to that end.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is y 1-. A fastening for lacingscomprising in combination a fixed jaw provided with a cored-out portion forming a passage for lacings, and a movable jaw compressing and conining said lacing Within said cored-out portion, said movable jaw being provided With a cap of a diameter greater than and concealg the fixed j avv beneath it, substantially as described.

2. A-fastening for lacings comprising in vcombination a fixed jaw provided With a cored-out portion forming a passage for lacings and a movable jaW for clampingy said lacings to the fixed jaW, said movable jaW being provided with a cap having a recess receiving the fixed jaW substantially vas described.

3. A fastening for lacings comprising in combination a fixed jaW provided with a cored-out portion forming a passage for lac= ings and a movable jaW for clamping said lacings to the fixed jaw, said movable jaw being provided With a concavo-conveX cap ends of the lacing may be held together and separate lacings may be connected with each other, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of November .1905.

" WILLIAM W. MUNsELL.

In the presence of Witnesses- JNO. G. ELLIOTT, M. S. REEDER. 

